Maybe soulmates but definitely mates
by JemmaLikesStuff
Summary: ONE-SHOT. They both have had rowdy scraps today, so they decide to get drunk and dance. Does Arthur have feelings for Sadie? Probably. Will he act on them? Probably not. Bit of fun and fluff! Please Review.


_**A/N - Just a little one-shot about Arthur's feelings for Sadie. Please review and give me a little feedback. Thank you for reading. Enjoy. **_

_**Until next time, Cheers! x**_

* * *

Much to Arthur's dismay, Dutch had sent a few of the girls out to Saint Denis for a bit of pick pocketing and suchlike business. Arthur didn't see the point in putting them at risk for the sake of a few measly dollars. He would happily contribute more if it would spare them from getting tarted up and conversing with the estranged rich folks of places like Saint Denis. Luckily for Karen and Mary-Beth, Dutch had convinced Sadie to accompany them as protection. It took the strong headed widow some convincing to get dressed up and go wandering around like a fruitless hooker but eventually she gave into the peer pressure.

* * *

Arthur now sits at the edge of camp playing dominoes with Abigail, watching for the three women to return.

Apparently Dutch wants to lighten the mood in camp by having a little party tonight. If you class Uncle lying in his own sick, a little music, Karen getting too drunk and Mary-Beth pleading with Arthur to dance all night, then sure, it'll be a party.

Arthur decides to hold off on joining the festivities until the girls return, just in case of an emergency or something.

The early evening breeze blows tendrils of raven hair over Abigail's eyes momentarily, as she intently watches her friend glance up from his hand in the game to search the line of trees in the direction that the women would most likely return.

She smiles lightly "I don't know what's got you so worried bout' em' Arthur but they'll be fine, I'm sure of it. Ain't no different to any other day."

Arthur's cheeks go ever so slightly pink as he notes how incredibly obvious his uncomfortable anticipation of their return must be.

"I know, I just don't like it, that's all. Back in Valentine I would go with em' to keep an eye out. Dutch insisted Mrs Adler go with them instead cause o' Saint Denis being... what did he say... up market or something like that." He screws up his face.

She laughs lightly "I can't imagine the proper upper class gentlemen of Saint Denis wanting to chat to the girls while your growling at them on street corners, Arthur."

He plays his turn, still looking at his hand he matter-of-factually states " First of all, if they're hanging around street corners to talk to ladies, they ain't gentlemen at all and secondly, what makes you think Sadie ain't growling at them just the same as me?."

Abigail nods with a grin "Yeah, I'm sure she'll be just as protective but she ain't so intimidating to look at, especially in that dress she's wearing. She scrubs up quite well considering she ain't one for fashion and all that."

Arthur chokes "A dress?!" His cheeks flush so he tips his hat over his face to ever so slightly distract from his rosy complexion.

Abigail nods with a knowing smirk and plays her turn of the game.

"I should have went with em'."

There is a short silence.

"You sweet on her, Arthur Morgan?" She smiles wangling her finger at him.

He coughs " No I ain't, I ain't sweet on anyone. Sadie ... she's..." He is interrupted by Karen and Sadie riding down the hill towards Shady Belle's front door. Mary-Beth hops off the back of Sadie's horse and storms straight towards Dutch's Tent, she nearly knocks Uncle over as she passes him.

The other two women approach the table and Abigail queries "What's got her so riled up?"

Karen lets out a slightly evil laugh " She ain't made for a place like Saint Denis. She got herself in a bit of a predicament but Mrs Adler here stepped in before it went South, Mary-Beth thinks Mrs Adler stole her thunder or some crap. You know what she's like" Arthur glances over to Sadie and his eyes nearly pop out of his head. She looks amazing. She looks amazing, until he notices the blood on her face anyway.

Without thought, Arthur approaches her "Sadie, what happened to your face?" He goes to move the hair away from her profile but she swats his hand away. His throat dries up at the sight of her exposed cleavage. Suddenly aware that he may have looked at her bosoms for a few more seconds than he'd like to admit, she takes a unsteady step backwards.

"I'm fine Arthur, I just need a drink."As she closely passes him by, he inhales a smell of sweet flowers mixed with a slight hint of iron and tobacco. Arthur watches as her hips sway over to the fire pit.

Karen shakes her head and sits in the seat Arthur abandoned moments ago. She takes a sip from her hip flask that she produces from under her skirt and slurs "Won't you two old sweethearts just kiss already?"

Abigail laughs and Arthur shakes his head as he leaves them in search of some uncommunicative Liquor.

* * *

Music plays in camp and everyone seems to be in high spirits. Even Mary-Beth appears to have removed the chip from off her shoulder. Arthur sits facing the fire, he leans his back against a log and listens as a few people sing along with the song. Dutch laughs at something Karen says in the distance prompting Molly to saunter over and violently plonk herself down next to Arthur on the ground. He can smell the fumes from her breath as she loudly 'whispers' in his face "You think I'm sexy, don't ya Arthur?" Arthur's mouth gapes open slightly at this query. His body stiffens as Mary-Beth plonks herself on the other side of him. Usually he wouldn't mind being sandwiched between two pretty ladies but sensed nothing good was going to come out of this three-way.

Arthur's words stick in his throat so Molly continues in her thick Irish accent "Dutch says I'm past it" She burps.

Mary-Beth interjects "Leave Arthur out of your love life Miss O'Shea." She stands and grabs onto Arthur's wrists. She tries to pull him up but she isn't strong enough. She frowns "Arthur won't you dance with me like you used to?"

Molly cackles "He won't dance with ye because he knows your infatuated with him, stupid girl." Mary-Beth huffs in response. Arthur tries to pretend Molly isn't right.

"I am older now, ain't as fit as I used to be."

Someone crows from behind the three of them. Arthur recognizes the voice as none other than, Micah Bell. "Dutch might not like seeing his number one lackey fawn over his girls Morgan."

The two intoxicated women let out exasperated sighs.

Micah continues "If your preoccupied with those two, maybe this is my chance to take the widow, Mrs Adler, to bed."

Arthur stands calmly "No it ain't"

Micah laughs "What you gonna do about it cowpoke? Is ain't like she's yours or nothin' " Arthur becomes instantly angry. In all honesty, literally anything that comes falling out of Micah Bell's mouth makes his blood boil but no way in hell Arthur will stand for him disrespecting Mrs Adler like that.

Still composed Arthur laughs "I don't need to do anything, Mrs Adler will cut off your balls long before she lets you touch her."

Micah snorts "You know she wants it, She pretends she don't but I can tell she's dying to have me inside her"

As if Arthur is warning him, he spits his rivals name "Micah..."

"Go fuck off and hold hands with the Darkie and Redskin and leave the Widow to me, clearly you can't handle her old man." He bites his lip lightly, waiting for a reaction.

Arthur clenches his fists so tight he thinks his blunt fingernails might have actually drew little blood from his palms.

Micah stupidly continues, "Oh what I want to do with her in that dress. It's perfectly tight up top. Though it will be much better for me when the skirt is over her head in my tent."

He laughs.

Arthur does not.

* * *

Just as Sadie approaches the main body of the camp, to get more alcohol of course, she notices two figures standing near the fire in the distance. There seems to be some kind of disagreement but she isn't close enough to see through the fog of the fire. She advances, noticing that it's Micah and Arthur bickering. Nothing unusual there she thinks. She can't quite hear what they are saying until she reaches the logs surrounding the fire.

Arthur spits "Watch your goddamn mouth boy." rolling up his discolored shirt sleeves. Molly and Mary-Beth promptly stand and put some meters between them and the brewing brawl. Micah approaches and swings for Arthur, who dodges the hit and goes to counter attack. He punches Micah square on the nose. It cracks like an egg. Arthur knows it must hurt the disrespectful bastard because his fist is aching. The blood freely runs from Mr Bell's large nose. Which now points slightly to the side. The starlet river clogs up in his fair-haired mustache, matting the hairs together before continuing to run down his chin and neck.

Sadie expects Micah to retaliate but instead he timidly mutters "Your gonna regret that old man."

Even more her her surprise, Arthur doesn't stop. He grabs Micah again and aggressively shoves him to the ground, pounding his fist into his rivals face over and over, a few times at least. "I won't regret nothin' ya piece of shit. Don't ever speak about her like that again you goddamn dog." Micah head butts Arthur momentarily dazing him.

As Micah goes to hit his opponent again, John and Bill grab him and pull him away. Without thinking Sadie grabs Arthur and shrieks in his ear "What the hell's gotten into you?" She grabs his wrists. His skin is like touching a naked flame. Lenny approaches to help Sadie restrain Mr Morgan but it's as if her touch has instantly melted the fire within him.

He stands staring into her eyes as she continues to grip on to his wrists. She looks at him disapprovingly until Dutch saunters over. He warns the crowd "Any more carry on and the music is off. We are celebrating tonight. Arthur I will deal with you tomorrow. Molly, come dance with me." Arthur grunts and Molly sheepishly obliges.

Sadie shakes her head and hands him one of the bottles of whiskey that she picks up from a nearby crate. She gestures for him to follow her, he walks a few paces behind her whilst slurping down a few large mouthfuls of alcohol.

She plonks herself down on the slightly damp ground and leans against a moss covered tree trunk that had fallen in the marshes, near the old cottage. She faces out towards the Alligator infested swamps. Some would say their current surroundings aren't as pretty... as say... Clemens Point but Sadie likes it here. It is calm and unconventionally beautiful in the right light.

Arthur practically falls down into a similar position. Sadie takes Arthur's bottle of whiskey from him and sets it down next to hers as turns to face her friend and inspect his war wounds. She prods and wipes at his face but all appears to be in order. She then turns her attention to his hand which are caked in Micah's blood. Arthur winces slightly as she spreads out his finger to see if anything is broken.

"So? You never answered my question Arthur. What the hell got into you back there? I ain't ever seen you like that. He wasn't gonna try hit you again but you just kept on going at him."

Arthur grumbles, she hands him back his bottle of drink and looks at him expectantly for an answer. "He was being disrespectful. I didn't like it. He deserved it Sadie."

She thoughtfully nods "I know he deserved it, it's Micah Bell for Pete's sake. It was just surprising is all. You usually ignore him pretty good."

They drink in silence for a few minutes. The silence isn't awkward as the pair are now pretty comfortable with each other's company.

Arthur decides to change the subject "So what happened in Saint Denis?"

She sighs, knowing he would bring it up again. "Nothin' out of the ordinary, I swear."

He looks at her quizzically, prompting her to continue " A guy was a bit to forward for my liking and Mary-Beth weren't happy that I intervened. Mary-Beth weren't handling it so well, not as well as Karen. Karen can play men like fiddles. She went moaning to Dutch saying I was making her look like a fool and stopping her from sealing the deal but he ain't said anything to me bout it yet."

Arthur exhales through is nose as if silently chuckling but his face hardens remembering the blood on her face earlier. Sadie sniggers although she can read his creased brow "It were his blood Arthur, no need to get your back up."

He nods with a smile "attagirl."

After a synchronized swig, Arthur notes "Mary-Beth is a little naive, I'm glad you were there." Sadie nods in agreement.

* * *

The conversation flows steadily but Sadie hasn't forgot about the earlier ruckus with Micah and she is determined to interrogate Arthur about it still.

She announces, half in jest "Your gonna get a takin' to from Dutch about your outburst in the morning Mr Morgan. You better prepare yourself."

Arthur smirks "Dutch and Micah have been talkin' so much bullshit lately I think he might just start mooing at me." Sadie chokes slightly on a mouthful of Whiskey she tires to knock back, laughing, she nods in approval.

She nudges him "You can be funny when you want to be, Arthur."

"Gee Thanks Sadie." They clink their bottles together.

"Cheers."

Much to Arthur's surprise she brings it up again. "So you ain't gonna tell me what it was about?"

He spits "No I ain't."

She pushes "Did he say something about Mary-Beth or something?"

Arthur smiles slightly but then shakes his head and snaps at her "What makes you think that? Why does it even matter Sadie?"

She blushes slightly "I'm just tryin' to figure out why, after all the times he hackles you and you manage to rise above it, this time you bite back... hard. Defending Mary-Beth seems the most likely reason for you to react like that. You do have a soft spot for the girl."

Easily defeated by a woman as bewitching as her, plus he can't help but notice that seems quite unsettled about it so decides to put her right. He swigs his bottle and sighs "If I tell you, promise you won't get angry and go over there right now to finish him off?"

She looks at him suspiciously and reluctantly nods "I promise." She grins, knowing she could make him crack.

"He was running his mouth about _you_. He saw I was stuck in between Molly and and Mary-Beth and he was tryna get a rise outa me, sayin' it was his chance to make a move cause I was busy with the other girls."

He carefully watches her surprisingly delicate facial features and waits for her response. She swigs her bottle, clearly thinking.

She swallows hard "I take it that it weren't worded kinda nicely like that?"

Arthur shakes his head "Definitely not."

She notices how tense his body suddenly turns, noting that he clearly doesn't want to repeat the conversation. To both of their surprise she takes his rough hand in hers and pulls in into her lap. They look out to the swamps until Arthur's eyes momentarily flicker over to where his hand is, accidentally glancing over the tops of her exposed breasts again. He had forgotten about _the dress. _He swallows unsure of what is about to be said.

"Thank you Arthur." She smiles sheepishly.

He hesitates, unsure of how far their the boundaries of their friendship will allow this intimacy to go. He clears his throat "I think I would do... anything for you Mrs Adler and for the record Mary-Beth ain't the one I have a soft spot for." Regret fills his chest as she winces at his use of her married name but she doesn't let go of his hand. She is about to speak but he panics and nudges her side trying to lighten the mood and rambles out "Although, Sadie i am under no Illusion that you need anyone to stand up for you and that you wouldn't have tried to kill him yourself if you were there. In fact i think you would have succeeded where i failed."

She lets go of his hand and lets out a hearty laugh. Arthur instantly retracts his hand back around the whiskey bottle and is pretty sure his heart misses a beat as he admires how naturally beautiful she is. Especially when she laughs. She doesn't have a very lady like laugh but that makes Arthur admire her even more so. Sadie feels relaxed that he is making jokes about it but she actually is a little disappointed he let go of her hand.

* * *

As they sit and chat about their new camp and other trivial things, Arthur's mind slips into it's own thoughts, admitting to himself that he is possibly infatuated with Mrs Adler. He would follow her anywhere she may need him to go. Do anything she may need him to do. Is there a possibility that two lonely souls who both know heartache and loss could perhaps have a second chance of happiness together? He shakes these thoughts away, noting that her late husband was clearly her soulmate. He shuns himself for even thinking of her that way, he could never take advantage of their friendship like that.

She nudges him "You Okay Arthur?" He nods out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, just wondering what your gonna do next time Micah crosses your path."

She jokingly plays with her hair and tries to look as innocent as possible "Who ...Me?"

He laughs "Yeah you."

She shrugs her shoulders "You did him in pretty good." She stops for thought "I think I'll just spit on him. I guess we will find out when it happens."

He agrees knowing how unpredictable his friend can be.

* * *

The pair have been quite chatty for once but as the bottles run dry the conversation dies out naturally.

Arthur clears his throat " If I could be so bold Miss and ask you to twirl?" Shocked but in jest she exaggeratedly gasps and puts her hand on her bosoms. Before he knows it she is on her knees, using the log he is leaning his back on as an aid to stand. She flicks her hair over her shoulder. Then reaches her arms out and spins around making the skirt of her dress billow out around her curvy frame. Her eagerness to do it makes them both laugh. She was a little tipsy. Arthur's sides hurt from all the hilarity. Giggling, she stumbles slightly and lands ungracefully on his lap.

He spits up and remarks on her looks "Excuse my bluntness but you do look... beautiful in that dress you know." Her cheeks darken as she shifts her skirt about on his knee, subconsciously forgetting she is actually on his knee. Unsure of what to say now, feeling like a gibbering fool, he continues in a ramble "I mean you are always beautiful but today you look absolutely gorgeous..."

She moves back onto the ground and pushes him slightly. She forces a laugh "Don't go soft on me now Arthur." He laughs and stumbles slightly as he stands. He reaches his hands down towards his female comrade. "Care to dance M'Lady?"

She nods and takes his hands. As he effortlessly hoists her to her feet, her stomach does a somersault.

They approach the mansion until they can hear the music more clearly. Arthur takes her hand in his and places the other on her lower back. They sway in time to the music. A couple songs later Sadie speaks "Arthur, if I ask you a question and can you please give me an honest answer?"

"Yes whatever you want Sadie." She rolls her eyes at his eagerness to please her but looks at her tenderly and her heart melts a little before she continues " Do you think that it's possible for someone to have more than one soulmate?"

Arthur clears his throat again as it suddenly goes dry. He moves his eyes from the star filled sky to meet hers. The moonlight shines against them and highlights her face.

He answers from his heart, inwardly swearing not to drink around this bewildering woman again. " I can't say for sure Sadie, but the way I see it is that there's a million different possible paths for each person in this world to take and a million different ways for people to come into your life... so I guess what i mean is... I think you can. I think soulmates can even change for people, depending on where they are in their life... I mean Uh maybe they can change after significant moments in their lives. Something I have learned lately as everyone can change and sometimes it happens without you even realizing it."

He smiles weakly at her but before she can respond, he takes a much needed breath and adds "Maybe not always in a romantic way though but if your lucky there will more than one person you will meet in your life, who you connect with more than anyone else. It just feels more than a typical friendship because you understand each other perfectly. You would do anything for one another. I don't think soulmates are even the people who make you feel the best, they are the people who make you feel the most and they feel like hope." He looks at his feet embarrassed but seconds later he feels like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

Stunned at his response Sadie stops moving to the music and just looks deadpan at the man in front of her, who she is suddenly seeing another side to. A side of him she desperately felt she needed to see recently. She has been intrigued to see this side of him ever since they met.

She may have stopped moving but she is still holding onto him, almost as if her life depends on it. She hesitates but then she suddenly blurts out into his boyish smile "What would you say to a widow feels she has found a new soulmate, even although she never thought it to be possible... What would you say to her if she didn't know whether her new soulmate was a romantic one or not?"

He wavers for a second, grips her shoulders a little tighter and answers honestly with a slightly juvenile smirk , "I would tell that widow that she should take her time to decide what is best for her and what she feels comfortable with. Whether or not if her new soulmate is a romantic one, they know her enough and love her enough to give her enough time to figure it out and be there for her no matter what she decides." She sighs, letting out all the tension in her body. Oh how glad she is that their feelings are now out in the open. He pulls her back towards him and begins to dance again. She places her head on his shoulder and she whispers "Thank you Arthur." Something she is getting quite accustomed to. He lightly kisses her on the forehead taking in the smell of whiskey and sweat. He smiles thinking how lucky he is to have met a friend... dare he say 'maybe soulmate' like Sadie Adler.


End file.
